Assignment paper no 204 :“Class, Ideology, and Alienation: A Marxist Reading of George Orwell’s 1984”

Assignment paper no 204 :“Class, Ideology, and Alienation: A Marxist Reading of George Orwell’s 1984”

Personal Information:-

Name:- Bhumi Mahida
Batch:-  M.A. Sem 3 (2024-2026)
Enrollment Number:- 51082240017
E-mail Address:- bhumimahida385@gmail.com
Roll Number:- 2

Assignment Details:

Topic:-“Class, Ideology, and Alienation: A Marxist Reading of George Orwell’s 1984”
Paper & subject code:-Paper 204: Contemporary Western Theories and Film Studies
Submitted to:- Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar
Date of Submission:- 

Table of Contents :

Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Theoretical Framework: Marx, Althusser, and Ideology
Class Hierarchy and the Logic of Power
Ideological Manipulation: Language, Media, and Memory
Alienation and the Crisis of Subjectivity
The Party as the Ultimate Ideological State Apparatus
Revolution and the Limits of Resistance
Conclusion

Abstract :

George Orwell’s 1984 is often read as a dystopian critique of totalitarianism, but beneath its political surface lies a profound Marxist subtext that interrogates the class structures and ideological mechanisms of a capitalist-imperialist order gone to its logical extreme. This paper explores 1984 through the lens of Marxist criticism, focusing on how Orwell’s depiction of class hierarchy, ideological control, and alienation reflects Karl Marx’s theories of false consciousness and economic exploitation. Drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of Marx, Althusser, and Gramsci, the essay argues that Orwell’s dystopia represents a world in which ideology functions as both economic and psychological oppression. The Party’s manipulation of truth, language, and history embodies Althusser’s “Ideological State Apparatuses,” while Winston Smith’s fragmented consciousness mirrors the alienation of the proletariat under advanced capitalism. Ultimately, 1984 dramatizes the end point of capitalist logic — a total system where the distinction between material domination and ideological subjugation collapses, producing a world where resistance becomes both necessary and nearly impossible.

Keywords: 

Marxism
Ideology
Class struggle
Alienation
Althusser
False consciousness
Totalitarianism

Introduction: Orwell and Marxist Critique :

George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) stands as one of the twentieth century’s most haunting visions of a society dominated by total power. The world of Oceania — with its omnipresent surveillance, rigid class division, and psychological control — has often been seen as a critique of Stalinist communism. However, a deeper reading reveals that Orwell’s novel is equally a critique of capitalist modernity and its ideological apparatuses. Far from being merely anti-communist, 1984 exposes how power perpetuates itself by manufacturing consent, controlling consciousness, and reducing human life to a function of economic and political utility.

Marxist criticism provides a compelling framework to read 1984, because it interprets literature as a product of its historical and material conditions. As Terry Eagleton notes, “literature does not exist in a vacuum; it is a social institution that reflects and participates in class struggle” (Marxism and Literary Criticism 3). In this light, Orwell’s 1984 becomes not just a political allegory, but a text that reveals how ideology and class relations operate to reproduce the dominance of a ruling elite. By linking Marx’s theories of class and alienation with Louis Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses, this essay examines how 1984 portrays the mechanisms of ideological control and the resulting alienation of the individual.

Theoretical Framework: Marx, Althusser, and Ideology :

Marx’s materialist theory begins with the distinction between base (the economic structure) and superstructure (the ideological and political institutions built upon it). In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels write that “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” Ideology, in this sense, functions to maintain the dominance of those who control the means of production. This false consciousness — the belief system that makes exploitation appear natural — ensures that the working class remains complicit in its own subjugation.

Building on Marx, Louis Althusser in his essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” (1971) distinguishes between Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs), such as the police or army, which function by coercion, and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), such as education, media, and religion, which function by persuasion. Althusser’s insight is that ideology does not merely deceive individuals but “interpellates” them as subjects — forming their very sense of identity within the system. Thus, ideology operates not only externally but internally, shaping the individual’s desires, fears, and consciousness.

In Orwell’s 1984, these concepts converge powerfully. The Party uses both repressive and ideological mechanisms to maintain control. The Thought Police, Ministry of Truth, and Ministry of Love function as Althusserian apparatuses — enforcing conformity through both fear and belief. As Winston Smith observes, “If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened — that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture or death” (Orwell 40). The control of history becomes the control of reality itself, and thus of consciousness.

Class Hierarchy and the Logic of Power :

At the center of 1984 lies a rigid class structure that mirrors Marx’s analysis of capitalist society. Orwell divides Oceania into three groups: the Inner Party (the ruling elite), the Outer Party (the bureaucratic middle class), and the Proles (the exploited working class). This tripartite structure is a dystopian echo of Marx’s bourgeoisie–proletariat divide, intensified by total ideological control.

The Inner Party, represented by figures like O’Brien and Big Brother, controls both the material and ideological means of production. They do not merely own factories or resources but control the very production of truth. As Marx wrote, “The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships” (The German Ideology 47). By monopolizing the means of communication, the Party ensures that the superstructure (language, thought, art, history) reflects and sustains its material dominance.

The Outer Party — including Winston — represents the intellectual laborers whose function is to maintain the ideological machinery. They are alienated not only from their labor but also from truth and memory. Winston’s job at the Ministry of Truth — rewriting history — literalizes Marx’s notion of alienated labor: work that estranges the worker from the product of his own activity. As Marx observed in Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, “The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces.” Winston’s revisions enrich the Party’s power even as they destroy his own grasp on reality.

Meanwhile, the Proles embody the unorganized masses — the potential revolutionary class in Marxist terms. Orwell’s narrator famously notes, “If there is hope, it lies in the proles” (Orwell 72). Yet this hope remains unrealized, as the proles are kept in ignorance through poverty, pornography, and cheap entertainment — instruments of what Gramsci calls “cultural hegemony.” Their potential revolutionary energy is neutralized by ideological distraction, making them complicit in their own domination.

Ideological Manipulation: Language, Media, and Memory :

One of Orwell’s most penetrating insights lies in his depiction of ideology as a system embedded in language itself. The invention of Newspeak, the Party’s official language, exemplifies Althusser’s argument that ideology constructs subjectivity. By reducing vocabulary and altering grammar, the Party limits the range of thought: “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible” (Orwell 52). This linguistic control ensures that dissent cannot even be imagined — a direct illustration of how ideology operates through language to shape consciousness.

The Ministry of Truth, where Winston works, manipulates historical records to align with Party propaganda. This reflects the ideological function of media in capitalist societies: the production of “reality” as a consumable narrative. Althusser would describe this as the operation of an Ideological State Apparatus — producing “subjects” who internalize the Party’s vision as truth. The rewriting of history also dramatizes what Marx called the fetishism of commodities, where human relations are masked by objectified forms. In 1984, social relations are mediated not through commodities but through images — Big Brother’s face, slogans like “War is Peace,” and the two minutes hate — all functioning as ideological commodities that replace authentic human experience.

Alienation and the Crisis of Subjectivity :

Alienation, a central concept in Marxist theory, is both economic and existential in 1984. For Marx, alienation occurs when workers are estranged from the product of their labor, from others, and from themselves. In Orwell’s dystopia, this alienation is total — extending beyond labor into thought and emotion. Winston’s struggle is not merely political but deeply psychological: the attempt to reclaim a self in a world that denies subjectivity.

His diary, for instance, represents an act of alienated production. He writes for no audience, in defiance of a world that forbids personal expression. As he confesses, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four” (Orwell 84). This simple assertion becomes revolutionary because it reclaims the material reality of truth against ideological distortion. Yet Winston’s rebellion is ultimately absorbed and destroyed by the system — a tragic illustration of what Marx termed false consciousness, where individuals misrecognize the real source of their oppression.

Julia, too, embodies alienated resistance. Her rebellion is sensual rather than political — a private act within a collective nightmare. But even this is futile. When she and Winston are captured and reconditioned in the Ministry of Love, their love becomes a site of ideological reconstruction. “We are the dead,” Winston tells her; and indeed, under total ideology, authentic human relations are impossible.

The Party as the Ultimate Ideological State Apparatus :

The Party in 1984 is not merely a political institution; it is the ultimate Ideological State Apparatus — one that fuses coercion and consent, the repressive and ideological, into a seamless system. O’Brien articulates the Party’s logic bluntly: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever” (Orwell 280). This horrifying image captures the perpetual reproduction of power that Althusser describes: the system endures not by external domination alone but by shaping internal belief.

The Party’s slogans — “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength” — function as ideological paradoxes that dissolve contradiction, much like capitalist ideology itself, which justifies exploitation as “freedom of the market.” The perpetual war economy in 1984 mirrors Marx’s analysis of capitalism’s need for continuous production and destruction to sustain itself. The enemy — Eastasia or Eurasia — changes, but the system persists, proving that ideology’s function is to obscure the material relations of power beneath an endless spectacle of conflict.

Revolution and the Limits of Resistance :

Orwell’s pessimism lies in his recognition that ideology is not easily escaped. Winston’s final defeat — his acceptance of Big Brother — illustrates Althusser’s assertion that “there is no outside to ideology.” The system not only punishes dissent but absorbs it. The rebellion becomes another ritual of power, its failure reinforcing the inevitability of control.

Yet, in Marxist terms, 1984 still affirms the necessity of class consciousness. The proles, though politically inert, remain symbolically vital: “They were human beings. We are not human” (Orwell 166). In this recognition lies the glimmer of revolutionary potential. Orwell’s despair thus contains an implicit critique of modern capitalism — a world where technology, bureaucracy, and ideology combine to annihilate individuality. His vision anticipates the conditions of late capitalism described by Fredric Jameson, where “the cultural logic of capital” colonizes even the imagination.

Conclusion :

George Orwell’s 1984 endures as one of the most incisive literary representations of ideology and class domination. Through a Marxist lens, the novel reveals a world in which the superstructure of ideology has completely absorbed the material base — a world where power reproduces itself not only through economic control but through the very formation of thought. The Party’s manipulation of language, history, and emotion exemplifies Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatuses, while Winston’s alienation dramatizes Marx’s theory of estranged labor in psychological form.

Ultimately, Orwell’s dystopia is not only a warning against totalitarianism but a critique of the capitalist logic of domination that makes such systems possible. It is a world where false consciousness becomes absolute — where ideology ceases to mask exploitation because it becomes indistinguishable from reality itself. In this sense, 1984 remains profoundly Marxist: it insists that freedom requires the awakening of class consciousness and the recovery of authentic human subjectivity from the machinery of power.

Words : 1980

Images : 05

References :

Althusser, Louis. Ideology and  Ideological State Apparatuses by Louis Althusser 1969-70. www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm.

Eagleton, Terry. Marxism and Literary Criticism. Routledge, 2002.

Marx, Karl. Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/preface.htm.

Orwell, George. 1984. Penguin Books, 2013.

Stedman Jones, Gareth. "Karl Marx’s Changing Picture of the End of Capitalism." Journal of the British Academy, vol. 6, 2018, pp. 187-206. Accessed  1 Nov. 2025.

White, Richard. “George Orwell: Socialism and Utopia.” Utopian Studies, vol. 19, no. 1, 2008, pp. 73–95. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20719892. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.